A House committee yesterday began consideration of a bill approving the merger of the University of Toledo and the Medical University of Ohio, despite questions about how it would affect employee unions and their contracts. "The benefits and opportunities this merger provides are too big for us not to move forward," Rep. Peter Ujvagi (D., Toledo) told the House Finance Committee. The panel raised questions about the how the marriage of 21,000 students, 12 colleges, and $650 million in budgets into the third largest university in Ohio would work. Representatives of two of the five labor unions that would be affected by the merger attended the hearing, hoping for answers about what would happen to current employees as well as any employees who join the institution after the merger is under way. The merger, which must be approved by the General Assembly and Gov. Bob Taft, is tentatively set for July 1. The process, however, won't be entirely finished until July 2, 2014, when the newly merged board of trustees has been whittled down from 17 members to 9.
